This invention relates to a closure device with hinged panels.
Closure devices for recesses and spaces are known for the purpose of delimiting volumetric expanses in general.
In DE-A-2,045,763 a closure device is described for a recess, comprising a system of door panels which undergo a mixed sliding and rotary movement in passing from a configuration in which the recess is open, in which they lie to the side of the lateral walls of this latter and allow access to its interior, to a configuration in which the recess is closed, in which they lie coplanar to close the recess at its front.
More specifically, this mixed movement of the panels requires for each of them the use of a device comprising an upright which can move parallel to the lateral wall of the recess and has its end guided for the purpose of this movement along two guides provided in the recess floor and ceiling. This upright is also guided in its transverse traversing movement by a pantograph arrangement of hinged rods disposed parallel to the lateral wall of the recess, its movement being facilitated by springs connecting at least one rod to a fixed point of the recess. The panel which closes the recess is hinged to the upright by conventional hinges. The operation to obtain complete closure therefore requires the lateral sliding of the upright parallel to the lateral wall of the recess, i.e. the outward withdrawal of the panel disposed adhering to this lateral wall, followed by a 90.degree. rotation of the panel so that it becomes positioned in the plane of the recess aperture. To open the recess the same operations are performed in the reverse sequence.
A drawback of this known closure system is that the assembly comprising the upright, the hinged rods and the means for connection to the recess walls has a certain bulk which reduces the useful depth of the recess available to receive the panel when open. If the panel is to be totally concealed when in the open configuration, its width must be less than the depth of the recess, this obviously representing a considerable limitation which governs the width of the recess, especially if of small depth.
For small-depth recesses of greater width it has also been proposed to use several side-by-side closure devices, but this multiplies the drawbacks which each of them possesses.
A further drawback is that the hinged-rod pantograph system places limits on the panel length and means that in the case of panels of a certain height a number of pairs of rods must be used distributed along this height, with obvious increase in the constructional complexity of the assembly, its construction cost and the difficulty of installing and adjusting each panel.
A further drawback is that in order to prevent dangerous and undesirable lateral bending (waviness) of the hinged-rod pantograph system during the panel movement, the upright connected to these rods and to which the panel is hinged must be guided along guides which have to be installed in the floor and ceiling, and are visible from the outside, this being particularly so in the case of the guide in the floor.
A further drawback is that the pantograph mechanism is visible from the outside and can also catch against objects placed in the recess, in particular articles of clothing. It is possible to avoid this by covering the pantograph mechanism with a cover panel (side panel) which however substantially reduces the useful opening of the recess.